The branch also advises on the tactical networking of the air, maritime and land-based assets that comprise the ADF’s integrated joint force.

The branch plays a significant role in major Integrated Investment Plan air and maritime acquisitions and upgrades, including the Airborne Early Warning and Control system and Hunter Class Frigates.

The branch is positioned as the S&T focal point for tactical systems integration and interoperability, enabling superior joint integrated tactical decision making and enhancing ADF warfighting capability.

The branch is comprised of three research groups:

Adaptive Information Architectures

Combat Information Interoperability

Human and Autonomous Decision Superiority

Adaptive Information Architectures

The Adaptive Information Architectures group conducts research on next-generation tactical battlespace architectures that will enable modular, distributed, highly agile and networked tactical systems that are open to ‘best of breed’ functional applications for rapid response to changing tactical environments.

Combat Information Interoperability

The Combat Information Interoperability group conducts research on network integration and interoperability of ADF platforms into the Australian joint and coalition tactical environment; the management of tactical information between and within ADF platforms; and the integration of the combat or mission system within the platform.

Human and Autonomous Decision Superiority

The Human and Autonomous Decision Superiority group conducts research in autonomous and augmented human tactical decision-making in distributed tactical systems to provide superior decisions and warfighting capability.

The group seeks to optimise the integration of autonomous and human information assessment and decision-making across the automation spectrum from primarily human to fully autonomous.